Upson Hall

How can the gut renovation of a 1950’s concrete-framed building set a campus standard for energy efficiency while establishing a new, open and transparent image for an engineering school? How can a custom and high-tuned façade be made from traditional and durable materials? These were the challenges that the interdisciplinary team of LTL Architects, Perkins+Will, Thornton Tomasetti and ME Engineers addressed in the renewal of Upson Hall. The new 1’-6” façade transforms the ribbon-window modernist educational building into a contemporary, energy efficient and flexible research laboratory. 3 different terracotta profiles change from the lower floors to upper floors to accentuate shadow patterns and reflect the stratified rock of the local geology. Yellow vertical panels reference the original façade color, while white angled jambs and sills maximize daylight reflection into the interior. Larger expanses of glass are reserved for the new cantilevered public spaces at the corners, inviting the campus into the interior. In re-purposing a post-WWII building, the Upson Hall project transforms a work of international modernism into a highly tuned, site specific building, as part of the rejuvenation of the Engineering Quadrangle.

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The New York based practices of LTL Architects, Perkins + Will, and Thornton Tomasetti have formed an interdisciplinary design team to initiate an aesthetic, programmatic and sustainable transformation of the post-World War II era Upson Hall at Cornell University. The team brings complementary skills to provide a climate-specific response to this unique project located in the heart of the Engineering Quad for the College of Engineering. This project focuses on the renovation of the existing 160,000sf Upson Hall to accommodate hybrid engineering labs, classrooms, offices and student project spaces for both undergraduate and graduate programs. With ME Engineers for MEP/FP design, the team has worked with Cornell to integrate design excellence and energy efficiency with the goal of creating the highest level of building performance on the Ithaca campus. In re-purposing a post-WWII building, the Upson Hall project transforms a work of international modernism into a highly tuned, site specific building, setting precedent for the rejuvenation of the Engineering Quadrangle.